In a rhetorical shift last week, the Bush administration unveiled a new name for its worldwide war against an abstraction. The old moniker "Global War on Terror" (or GWOT) has been exchanged for the new label, the "Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism" (or G-SAVE). The results for America and the world, sadly, will be the […]

As expected, President Bush Monday morning made a recess appointment of John Bolton to the post of UN ambassador for the United States. This, despite Bolton's inability to get Senate approval, his lie regarding his testimony in the Plame affair, and the possibility of his own involvement in a White House orchestrated smear campaign against […]

It's amazing what a difference a day makes. On Friday morning, Republicans proclaimed Karl Rove's exhonoration in the PlameGate affair, after a source close to investigation claimed that it was columnist Robert Novak who informed Karl Rove of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity, and not visa versa. But RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman's gloating notwithstanding, the […]

A recurring topic here at Perrspectives has been the rise of China as a economic, military and diplomatic superpower and its impact on American security and prosperity. Since its inception, the response of the Bush administration to Beijing's emergence as American creditor, trading partner and strategic rival has alternately been silence or incoherence. This week, […]

In "Getting Drafty", I argued that current and emerging American national security challenges require the reinstatement of the draft and a new "hybrid model" of national service. Developments over the just the past two weeks reflect just how rapidly the pressure is building to bolster American military force levels. London Terror Attacks and the Need […]

During Thursday's hearings of the Armed Services Committee, several Republican Senators blamed the usual suspects for the shortfalls in Army and Marine recruiting. James Inhofe (R-OK) lambasted unnamed Senate colleagues, adding the potential recruits are being discouraged "because of all the negative media that's out there." Kansan Pat Roberts chimed in, "with the deluge of […]

President Bush delivered his much awaited speech on Iraq to an audience of soldiers assembled at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As theater, the President's was a confident rhetorical performance. But if the intent was to rebuild American support for the Iraq war by showing accountability for the missteps to date, providing a plan for success […]

Yesterday, I offered a lengthy preview of tonight's nationally televised address on Iraq by President Bush. In the Perrspectives Guide to the Bush Address, I highlighted the Five Things Bush Must Do to rebuild public support for the conflict in Iraq. In that Guide, I also pointed out the rhetorical warning signs that Bush's rhetoric […]

Ronald Reagan once famously said that presidents should "never say never" But when it comes to the reinstatement of the military draft, recent public opinion polls seem to suggest that the American people think "never" would be a fine idea, indeed. A recent AP/Ipsos poll showed only 27% of Americans favored conscription, with a whopping […]

On the heels of Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to the U.S. and the growing furor over the Downing Street Memo, a new British document promises to further highlight the Bush administration's deception and incompetence in preparing for the Iraq war. The Washington Post reports that just two days before the Downing Street meeting, a […]